Duplex stringed instrument



Sept. 22, 1925. 1,554,806

' c. FURIA DUPLEX STRINGED INSTRUMENT Filed Aug. 4, 1924 INVENTOR o 2/ o 0 Patented Sept. 22, 1925.

UNITED STATES CARLO ream, or BROOKLYN, NEW YORK.

DUPLEX STRINGED INSTRUMENT.

.Application filed August 4:, 1924 Serial No. 729,864.

To all whomt't may concern:

Be it known that I, CARLO FURIA, a citizen of Italy. residing at'New York city, borough of Brooklyn, in the county of Kings and State of New York, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Duplex Stringed Instruments, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to musical instruments and has particular reference to stringed instruments of the banjo and mandolin type and so adapted to be held on ones lap andfingered or manipulated manually.

Among the objects of the improvement is to provide a combined or duplex instrument having the chauacteristics of twodistinct and independentinstruments, each having its distinctive head, neck, strings, and sound ing board, with the accompanying distinctive tonal qualities, but which, moreover, 1s soconstructed as to possess qualities of tone and volume that will render each of said distinct instruments in the combination peculiarly superior to such instruments when made and operated separately according to the usual practice.

With the foregoing and other objects in view the invention consists in the arrangement and combination of parts hereinafter described and claimed, and while the invention is not restricted to the exact details of construction disclosed or suggested herein, still for the purpose of illustrating a practical embodiment thereof reference is had to the accompanying drawings in which like reference characters designate the same parts in the several views, and in which Figures 1 and 2 are perspective views showing diagrammatically the selective different adaptations or positions of the duplex instrument.

Fig. 3 is a plan view of the instrument as played in Fig. 1.

Fig. l is a plan view of the instrument as played in Fig. 2.

Referring now more specifically to the drawings, but without unnecessarily restricting myself to the precise types, construction, or designs of instruments illustrated, I indicate by way of illustration an instrument having a sounding body or resonator 10. As shown this body comprises a cylindrical or circular rim 11 having on one face a sheet of parchment 12 serving as a sounding board for that type of instrument known as a banjo and illustrated especially in Figs. 1 and 3. The parchment is secured in position in the usual manner by means of clamps 13 or the like. For this instrument and extending from the face having the parchment 12 there is provided any suitable structure or design of head 14:, neck 15, and strings 16 supported, tuned, and fingered in the usual way.

l Vhereas in the usual banjo the bottom or face of the body opposite the parchment 12 .is open or without a sounding device, in this instance I provide a special sounding board 17 which may be made of wood or its equivalent and having fixed relation to the rim portion of the body. This sounding board 17 is shown as having an opening 18; Associated with this sounding board 17 and ex tending therefrom; are a head '19, neck 20, and strings 21 typical of a distinctly different species of instrument from the one already described and which may be thought of as of the mandolin type in so far as the manner of manipulation and tonal effect are concerned.

It will thus be seen that my improved duplex or combination instrument possesses a single body common to what otherwise would correspond in a general way to two distinct instruments each manipulatable in its own way and for the rendering of its own characteristic species of music. 1 accomplish, however, by my combination something that is specifically more than or different from the putting together or separate use of two distinct instruments. For instance, as above premised, whereas the banjo as ordinarily made has no bottom in its body and which for this reason is lacking in the peculiar quality or timbre that is so much sought for in musical instruments, the opposite sounding board 17 in this construction is responsible for the production of a peculiarly pleasing sweet quality of banjo tone when the instrument is played as in Figs. 1 and 3. The volume of tone produced is materially increased and the quality is wonderfully enriched because of the duplex sounding boards. Again, while it will be noted from Figs. 1 and 2 that the manipulation of either adaptation of the instrument is accomplished in precisely its usual way and without obstruction or interference as to either hand because of the presence of the momentarily idle head and neck, such idle head and neck is in effect held in such position where it may serve as a steadying device for the instrument, lying as it does close to the players shoulder or between the shoulder and his face in an inconspicuous position. Another important advantage of this construction is that it enables a musician to change readily from one type of instrument to another, even in the midst of the rendition of a number, and with practically no break or pause in the music. Rotation of the instrument through one half a turn around its principal axis is sufficient to change from one instrument to the other, a turn that may be made certainly between measures if not between beats of the music.

I claim:

1. The herein described duplex stringed musical instrument comprising a sounding body serving as a resonator, a neck extending from one face of the body, a head at the end of the neck, a series of strings extending from the head along the neck and secured to the body, a. neck extending from the other face of the body in a general direction at an acute angle to the aforesaid neck, a head and series of strings co-operating with the latter mentioned neck, said body comprising two sounding members on opposite faces, one for each series of strings as aforesaid and each sounding member serving as a reinforcement for the tones produced by the strings of either series, the head, neck, and strings of either instrument being manipulated without obstruction in the usual manner of such instrument while the idle head and neck occupy a position between the head and neck in use and the players face.

2. The herein described duplex instrument comprising independent heads, necks, and strings pertaining respectively to two dis tinct species of instruments, a resonator body common to both of said necks and heads, the necks extending from opposite faces of the body and at an angle to each other whereby while the strings of either head and neck are being manipulated ac cording to the usual practice of such instrument the then idle head and neck will be in an inconspicuous position out of the way of the strings being manipulated, said body having on opposite faces two independent sounding members of different characters and each serving to reinforce and sweeten the tone produced from either set of strings.

In testimony whereof I aflix my signature.

CARLO FURIA. 

